iHave Modern Problems
by Twilight Warrior 627
Summary: Two young adults from opposite ends of modern problems meet as the rest of their lives begin at college. One strives for maintaining his sense of self, while the other strives for acceptance among her peers. Somewhere in the middle the two shall meet, and a new relationship is formed, testing them both to their limits.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any series that will be mentioned in this story.

Author's note: This story is in response to a challenge by Challenge King himself. I was initially floored that I would even accept the challenge as I had seen Modern Family only a few times, but not enough to have known everything. Luckily, I have been researching the show and I know how I will approach this story. For anyone interested, this chapter will be the introduction for the story. I will be taking a page from my good friend OneHorseShay as the story will not start off linear. Also, the story itself will be an alternate universe from season four when Haley starts college. Anything after iCarly ended is completely my idea. So please sit back, relax and enjoy the first chapter of 'iHave Modern Problems'.

UCLA

Westwood Chateau

September 8th, 2012

Noise. That's what came to mind as she was beginning to wake up from a long night. But it wasn't just any regular noise. It was like the kind of noise that a television made whenever it settled on an unused station, as the screen was filled with snow. However, the noise she felt inside her brain was not only strangely quieter, it was also much more numbing with the accompanying silence. The result was her head feeling like it throbbed like her heart. She scanned her surroundings and noticed that she was in her bedroom in her campus apartment. The nightstand to the right side of her bed, a high-def television sitting before the foot of the bed, and finally was her bed. It was slightly bigger than an average twin bed used in most college dorms. She noticed that she still had on the clothes from the previous night and that her body had not felt physically different. She had heard stories about girls in similar, yet much worse, positions. She was grateful as she remembered who it was who had managed to bring her home safe and sound. The smell of eggs and sausage filled her nose as she realized that her savior was fixing breakfast.

Steeling herself as best as she could, she threw her legs over the left side of the bed and stood up. Unfortunately, her swift action caused the pain in her head to ebb slightly, making her wonder just how much she had the night before. She quickly righted herself and proceeded out of the door and into the common room of her apartment. To her immediate right, was a window that held a view of the campus and the surrounding city. A television sat on a stand in front of the window, courtesy of her roommate. A white couch sat in front of the television stand with a blue windbreaker splayed on the cushions. And across from her was her roommate's bedroom, with the door open. No doubt she had stayed at her boyfriend's for the night. She turned to her left to see the kitchen with a small nook, and past that the apartment door.

"Good morning Haley," came the voice of a young man. Haley turned to see her savior and smiled. The young man in question wore a blue, white, and black plaid shirt, black jeans, and black socks, as his converse shoes were by the door.

"Good morning to you," Haley responded in kind. She was surprised that he had stayed the night. She had half-expected him to have jumped her bones after the searing kiss she had planted on him after they reached her apartment. Fortunately, he had rejected her as he didn't want sully himself, but most importantly her as everyone who saw him at last night's party knew who he was.

"How are you feeling?" the young man asked, with concern lacing his voice.

"My brain feels fuzzy. But otherwise fine. I can't imagine what people are probably saying about us after we left," Haley said, fearing the worst.

"We aren't in high school anymore. College isn't a place to think about reputation. We're here because we want to learn more so we can succeed later. The only thing we need to think when it comes to reputation is whether or not people remember who we truly are," he had replied firmly yet kindly. Haley lowered her head for a second as she thought on his words. He snapped her out of her reverie as he set a plate of scrambled eggs, sausage, and strawberries in front of her. She looked up at him to see him smiling back at her. He sat down across from her and they proceeded to eat their meal in silence.

After eating, the young man got up, cleared the table and washed the dishes. Haley looked at him and wondered how on earth a guy like this could exist and no one had snatched him up just yet. As he turned around to enter the common room, she quickly shifted her gaze as she realized she was staring. At the moment, she enjoyed staring as he was as handsome as any guy she had dated in high school. The young man stopped by the couch to grab his jacket, when Haley suddenly approached and stopped him. He looked into her eyes noticed something that he had seen, though relatively less in the previous girlfriends' eyes. Haley leaned in and softly pressed her lips to his and held them there for a few moments before pulling back.

"Thank you, for saving me last night," Haley said, smiling sweetly at the young man.

"Uh, just making sure you were safe," he said back, surprised by her action.

"No. I couldn't have asked anyone better to help me last night. Can you...I mean, if you aren't doing anything, just stay for a while longer?" Haley asked. She could rely on him. Even more than that, she knew she could trust him. But what would he think of her at this point. He took her hands in his and looked into her eyes.

"Sure. Whatever you want," he answered. She led him to the couch where they sat down. She turned the television on and let him flip through channels until they settled on one and just enjoyed each other's company. Haley leaned her head on his shoulder feeling comfortable with him.

"You're a great guy, Freddie Benson," Haley said.

"And you are an awesome girl, Haley Dunphy," Freddie responded. The two sat there after falling into a comfortable silence, both looking forward to another new start.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Do not own either series. Just using for the sake of this story.

Author's note: So for anyone who is interested, I'm trying to establish a idea of two different teens from two different social groups experiencing young adult problems from opposite ends. But they meet each other somewhere in the middle. The question is where and how. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this second chapter. Also, this chapter is so short because I thought it would be best to show another introductory chapter. Chapter 1 was a glimpse into how far things will go between Haley and Freddie. I'm pretty much spring-boarding from an idea OneHorseShay used. Just wanted to make that clear.

UCLA

Westwood Chateau

August 31, 2012

Haley Dunphey stood in the courtyard of the campus apartments as she thought about how far she had come ever since she received her acceptance letter. She looked all around as she took note of all the freshmen who enrolled, carrying their belongings tot heir rooms with enthusiasm for the start of a new school year. She thought about how she could possibly make this year smoother, especially among the student body. Unfortunately, her reverie was cut as she heard her father come up yelp out of surprise. Claire turned to see her father, Phil, standing so close behind what appeared to be a prospective female freshman.

"Oh goodness! I'm so sorry! I thought you were my wife! I'll prove it! Claire, turn around and show your butt!" Phil said, as he was vehemently apologizing to the young woman. Claire could only cup her entire face in her hands as she hoped no one made the connection to their relation.

Some yards away from the embarrassing commotion, a young man was feeling the same sentiment as Claire was at the moment. He had a look of boredom mixed with irritation on his face as his mother was unnecessarily explaining safety rules to him; unnecessary as he had been on his own before and had been without her helicopter guidance more than once.

"And don't forget to go to bed at-" the mother said to her son before he had to cut her off.

"Mom, I'm 18 years old and in college. I'm going to be living here on my own, WITHOUT YOU. These rules aren't exactly valid for me seeing as how I'm going to be on my own," the young man said.

"Fredward Benson, boys who don't listen to their mothers turn into degenerate miscreants!" Ms. Benson said to her son. Freddie simply closed his eyes and let his head droop down. As much as he could appreciate his mother watching out for him, he sometimes wondered if it was really worth all of the headaches she had given him. A part of him wanted to disown her, especially with the issue around the chip in his head, which had short-circuited from the group's second encounter with Nora. After that episode, he had saved enough money for when he could finally get it removed, but would have to use it on his books. He figured a job on campus could save him the trouble.

"Alright. I guess this is it. My baby boy is growing up!" Marissa said as she wrapped Freddie in a slightly strangling embrace. Freddie had slight difficulty with his breathing as his mother had a strong hold on him.

"Okay. Okay! I'll miss you two mom," Freddie heaved out before Marissa finally let go of him. The reddish-brunette woman began backing away so that Freddie could begin living his life. She made it back to the car as Freddie had already moved his belongings to his room.

"Have a good year Freddie," Marissa said as she got into the car and prepared to pull off. Freddie turned around to head into the building but would face one more embarassment.

"And be careful that the girls don't mess up your boy chemistry Freddie!" Marissa yelled as she pulled away. Freddie's face scrunched in more annoyance as he was pretty sure the whole student population heard her. Freddie re-opened his eyes and noticed that the students were staring at him. He thought the staring was from viewing him as a joke but looked again. He saw that the looks were of amazement and awe. He connected the dots with the fact that the females gave him the same look as the ones who attended the iCarly gang's first Webicon convention. Before he could move, the female half of the student population began swarming him.

Haley looked to see what all the noise was about and saw a large crowd gathering around. She could hear mutterings of something about iCarly, and Freddie. She moved to get a closer look but found that she was blocked. Haley shoved her way through the crowd until she finally saw what the other girls were going on about. Freddie Benson, stood, or more accurately began crumbling, beneath the female fans continuous groping and pulling. Haley seemed to notice him sink beneath the fans with his right hand raised while he kept sinking. The oldest Dunphey child would've found the sight funny if it weren't for the fact that he appeared to be seriously struggling. Haley thought of a way she could save him as she realized that the fans were beginning to lose sight of him.

"Hey! Freddie just went across the street! GET HIM!" Haley yelled loud enough for everyone to hear. The fans immediately looked up and began running in the general direction that was directly across the street. Freddie laid on the ground with his clothes partially torn. He looked up to see Haley kneel down to see if he was alright.

"Thanks. You just saved me. That's not nearly as fun as the first or second time," Freddie said as he sat up and then stood on his feet. The young man brushed himself off and took another look at himself and his torn clothes.

"Oh yeah. This is definitely worse than the first time," Freddie said as he lamented the situation.

"How often has this happened?" Haley asked. She had been a longtime fan of the show and thought the tech-producer was quite handsome. However, she chose to keep that to herself for the time being.

"Well, this being the third time, I'd say one time too many," Freddie replied.

"Well, we better get you to your room before everyone else swarms you. Or the fangirls come running back. By the way, my name is Haley. Haley Dunphey," Haley said to herself.

"Freddie Benson. It's to officially meet you."


End file.
